Synchronizer for clocks



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. GIPPERICH. SYNCHRONIZER FOR CLOCKS.

No. 438,314. Patented Oct. 14,1890.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Medal.)

A. GIPPERIOH. SYNGHRONIZER FOR CLOCKS.

No 438,314. Patented Oct. 14,1890.

liw'mlar:

g} 7%075766 @XPZIZZ (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 3. A. GIPPERIOH. SYNOHRONIZER FOR CLOCKS.

Patented Oct. 14,1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLPIIUS GIPPERIOH, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

SYNCHRONIZER FOR CLOCKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 438,314, dated October 14, 1890.

Application filed August 9, 1889. Serial No. 320,250. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, ADOLPHUS GIPPnRIoH, a citizen of the United States, residing atRichmond, in the county of I Ienrico and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Synchronizers for Clocks; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a face view of so much of a clock as is necessary to illustrate my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Figs. 3 and at are views similar to Fig. 1, illustrating the synchronizing mechanism in different positions. Fig. 4" is a detail view of the correcting-cam. Fig. 5 is alsoaface view of a clockillustrating a well-known synchronizing mechanism.

The invention relates to that class of mechanical appliances designed to periodically set the hands of a clock, whether through the agency of a mechanical device or devices controlled by the movements of the clock or through the agency of an electric current.

In synchronizers for clocks, more especially in the synchronizer of Hunter and Gerry, shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States, dated September 21, 1886, Se-

rial No. 3%,650, the operation of the synchronizing mechanism depends upon the position of the friction-roller X relatively to the operating-lever X, Fig. 5. Vhenever this roller X is in such a position on either side of the axis of the seconds-hand that the arm at or the end a; of the lever X will strike the roller when said roller and its supportingdisk X are on a dead-center the said synchronizing mechanism will fail in its operation and no correction will take place. WVhen the eccentric-pin for the rollers X is arranged on the disk X as described in the said patent-namely, upon the side of the disk remote from the normal position of the setting or correcting lever or lever-armthe disk-and roller will be on their dead-center relatively to the lever when the seconds-hand X reaches the point indicated in full and dotted lines, respectively, in Fig. 5, thus failing in its operation of correcting the gain or loss in the movement of the seconds-hand.

The object of my invention is to overcome this difficulty and provide means whereby the seconds-hand is set or corrected, whatever its position may be on the dial, to the right or left of the noon-hour-that is to say, to provide means whereby the disk is invariably carried over its dead-center.

To these ends the invention consists in the combination, with the correcting-lever or leverar1n, of a cam adapted to revolve about the seconds-handarbor, in the combination, with such a cam and the correcting-lever, of an auxiliary lever operating to carry the disk over its dead-center when in this position, relatively to the correcting-lever, to allow the latter lever to complete the operation of correcting or setting; also, in the combination, with the disk and the correcting and auxiliary levers, of a substantially double-wedgeshaped cam mounted on the eccentric-pin of the correcting-disk, substantially as hereinafter described, and as set forth in the claims.

The correction of the minute-hand may be effected by any suitable or well-known devicesas, for instance, by the devices shown in the said patent to Hunter and Gerry, hereinbefore referred to, or by other well-known devices connected with the lever forcorrecting the seconds-hand.

In the drawings, F indicates the clock-frame A, the minute-hand arbor; A, the secondshand arbor; II and H, the minute and seconds hands, respectively.

On the arbor A of the seconds-hand II is mounted, so as to revolve therewith, adisk D, that has an eccentric-pin d, to which is rigidly secured a cam O, constructed, preferably, in the form of a double wedge c c, Fig. 4. As shown in full lines in Fig 1, the cam G is so set on the pin as that its knife-edge 0 will lie in a radial plane upon the side of the disk remote from the normal position of the correct ing-lever L, though it may be secured to the disk at any other desired point without thereby impairing its function relatively to or its co-operation with said correcting lever or levers.

The correcting-lever L is fuicrumed at Z on the clock-frame F, and its outer end is constructed substantially like the corresponding correcting-lever shown in the said patent to Hunter and Gerry-that is to say, the lever terminating in a yoke or has its free end provided with a U-shaped extensionl, and carries a friction-roller Z upon the rear limb or is preferably constructed with a concave face,

while the armature A on the lever L has a convex face, the curvatures being segments ofcircles having for their center the fulcrum of the armature-lever L as and for the purposes described in said patent to Hunter and Gerry, hereinbefore referred to.

In view of the fact that the cam C is constructed in the form of a double wedge the inclined faces of the wedge c, forming a knifeedge, and in view of the further fact that the striking-faces Z l of the correcting-lever L are a substantially wedge-shaped or rounded and an inclined surface, respectively, the V probability of the disk D being on its deadcenter at the moment the correction takes place, so that a corresponding dead-point on either of said inclined faces will strike the knife-edge of the cam O squarely, is a very remote one; yet to avoid even such a remote contingency 'I employ an auxiliary weighted or gravity lever M, fulcrumed on the clockframe at m. lhe arm M of lever M is provided near its free end with a laterally-projecting wedge-shaped nose m, that vibrates in the path of the cam O, and said arm is curved and has a projecting point m whose front face-that is to say, the face that operates upon the cam 0 when within reach of the nose m of the auxiliary lever -is substantially rectilinear, or but slightly curved, while its rear face is curvilinear and lies at an angle to the main curvature of the arm, as shown.

When, the levers L and M are in their normal position, Fig. 1, the curved face of the arm M of lever M bears against the pin Z and roller 1. As the lever L-moves toward the axis of the seconds-hand, the pin and roller ride along the curved face of the arm M of lever M, which sweeps across the disk D in the path of the inclined faces 0 or c of cam C until the roller I has passed the curved face of the projecting point, when the pin Z of lever L will propel the lever M alone until said lever L fully straddles the seconds-hand axis, when the said pin Z will lie near the point of the extension m of lever M, and hold the same against backward motion, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

If at the time of correction the clock is fast and the seconds-hand stands about the position indicated in full lines, the curved striking-face (or the inclined striking-face, if the end of the limb Z of leverL is wedge-shaped,) will strike the curved side of cam O,and thereby revolve the disk D in a direction opposite to that of the motion of the seconds-hand and bring the latter back to the standard of correction-say, the noon hour.

It will of course be understood that the auxiliary lever M is brought into operation only when the cam lies within reach of its nose m at the time of correction, and the said lever is used only as an additional or auxiliary safeguard to prevent all possibility of the correcting-lever striking the cam while on a dead-center.

As soon as the electric current through th electro-magnet is interrupted the correctinglever returns into its normal position under the influence of the armature-lever L receding or falling away from the pole-piece A and as the auxiliary lever M is a gravity or weighted lever, the weight of which tends to maintain said lever in contact with the stop or stops on the correcting-lever, said auxiliary lever will follow the movement of the correcting-lever and return with the latter into its normal position.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown the cam'C in a position when the disk D is about on a dead-center relatively to the striking-faces Z? l, and consequently in the path of the nose m of lever M, by which it is engaged, and by which the disk D is revolved until the lever L has approached the axis of the seconds-hand sufficiently to bring either the striking-face Z or the striking-face Z in contact with the cam on one side of its knife-edge 0, whereby the disk D is further revolved until the lever L has completed its movement, when the parts will be in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

As the movement of the lever L is a very rapid and sudden one, impartinga like movement to lever M, which is liable to be thrown over completely when the cam C does not lie in the path of the said lever, I provide a stoppin P in the path of the arm M of lever M to arrest its motion from right to left,

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It will'thus be seen that no matter in what position the cam C may be at the time of correction, to one or the other side of its correct position wherever this maybe, it will invariably be brought back to that correct position either by lever L alone or by said lever and the lever M. Inasmuch as the cam is rigidly secured to the correcting-disk D and the said disk to the seconds-hand H, the latter will be set to correct time whatever may be its gain or loss.

Having now described my invention,what I claim is 1. A device for setting the hands of a clock, consisting of a setting arm or lever having a Ushaped extension or yoke provided with inclined striking-faces l l", in combination with a cam revolving about the arbor of the hand and engaged by said yoke when the setting device is operated, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. A device for settingthe hands ofa clock, consisting of a setting arm or lever having a U-shaped extension or yoke and a cam revolving about the arbor of the hand and engaged by said yoke when the setting device is operated, in combination with an auxiliary leverhavinga motion in aplane substantially at right angles to the plane of motion of the setting-lever in the path of the cam and adapted to engage said cam in advance of its being engaged by the setting-lever, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. A device for setting the hands of aclock, consisting of a setting arm or lever having a U-shaped extension or yoke and a cam revolving about the arbor of the hand and engaged by said yoke when the setting device is operated, in combination with an auxiliary gravity-lever having a motion in aplane substantially at right angles to the plane of the setting lever or arm in the path of the cam, substantially as and for the purposes speciiied.

4. A device for setting the hands of a clock, consisting of a setting arm or lever having a U-shaped extension or yoke, an electro-magnet for operating said arm or lever, and a cam revolving about the arbor of the hand and engaged by the yoke of the lever when operated by the electro-magnet, in combination with an auxiliary lever moving substantially in a plane at right angles to the plane of motion of the setting-lever in the path of the cam, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

5. A device for setting the hands of a clock, consisting of a setting arm or lever having a U-shaped extension or yoke provided with the inclined striking-faces Z Z an electromagnet for operating said arm or lever, and a cam revolving about the arbor of the hand, in combination with a gravity-lever having a motion in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of motion of the setting arm or lever in the path of the cam, substan tially as and for the purposes specified.

6. A device for setting the hands of a clock, consisting of a setting arm or lever having a U-shaped extension or yoke and a double Wedge shaped cam C, said cam revolving about the arbor of the hand and engaged by said yoke when thezsetting device is operated, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

7. A device for setting the hands of a clock, consisting of a setting arm or lever having a U-shaped extension or yoke and a double Wedge-shaped cam, said cam revolving about the arbor of the hand and engaged by said yoke when the setting device is operated, in combination with an auxiliary lever having a motion in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of motion of said yoke of the setting arm or lever, said auxiliary lever having a wedge-shaped nose m, moving in the path of the cam, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

.8. A device for setting the hands of a clock, consisting of a setting arm or lever having a U -shaped extension or yoke, a cam revolving about the arbor of the hand and engaged by said yoke when the setting device is operated, in combination with an auxiliary gravity-lever operated by the setting-lever and having a motion in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of motion of the yoke of said setting-lever, and stops to limit the movements of said auxiliary lever in either direction, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

9. The combination, with the lever L, provided with the extension or yoke Z, and carrying the pin Z and roller 1, and the disk D, carrying the cam O, of the auxiliary lever M, having a curved arm M, provided with an extension m and the wedge shaped nose m and the stop P, said parts being arranged and adapted to operate substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I afiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ADOLPHUS GIPPERICl-I. Witnesses:

CHARLES LUKER, WV. H. MCCARTHY. 

